Technical Field
The present invention relates to a pre-embedded/pre-built-in hole creating apparatus for buildings, and more particularly, to a pre-embedded/pre-built-in hole creating apparatus with a flame retardant function for long term building safety.
Description of Related Art
The construction of a building generally includes floor and wall construction. The floor is constructed on a moldboard base or a steel supporting panel (the so-called deck board) base, and the thickness and structure of the wall depends on, e.g. thickness of a moldboard or a light partition. In consideration of the interior piping arrangement of a building, the locations where the pipes are to be arranged at either the floor or the wall should be pre-determined so that the directions of the pipes will not be restricted by the floor or wall. Generally, the method for pre-embedding a pipe sleeve is adopted to create a reserved pipe hole. Specifically, a pipe sleeve penetrates a moldboard or a deck board and is secured thereto before concrete has been poured to the base so as to form a reserved pipe hole, thereby allowing a pipe to pass there through in the subsequent piping arrangement configuration and implementation.
In further consideration of fire safety for a building, as flames and smoke can spread from one room to another via pipeline or through their interspaces, the pre-embedded pipe sleeve has been equipped with many additional functions. For example, a pipe sleeve may be combined with a thermal-expandable material to form a flame-retardant pipe sleeve. Specifically, a thermal-expandable (fire-cutting) material is arranged inside a pre-embedded pipe sleeve so that when sufficiently high temperature flames or gases spread to the pre-embedded pipe sleeve along the pipeline in the event of a fire, the thermal-expandable material will react and expand drastically to fully occupy the space in the pipe sleeve, thereby preventing flames and smoke from spreading even further.
In order to equip the flame-retardant pipe sleeve with different functions, pipe sleeves of a variety of designs and types have been developed. TW Utility Model No. M443260 discloses a flame-retardant device. Referring to FIG. 1, the device mainly includes a pipe casing 10, a thermal-expandable foam 11 and a securing member 12. The thermal-expandable foam 11 and the securing member 12 are joined to form an annular body installed onto the pipe casing 10 and securing the pipe casing 10 via the adjustment mechanism of the securing member 12. One end of the pipe casing 10 has an annular projecting rim 101 configured to lay snugly upon the base (e.g. a moldboard) to allow the pipe casing 10 to be vertically placed. After being embedded, the pipe casing 10 becomes a reserved pipe hole while the thermal-expandable foam 11 and the securing member 12 are integrated into the building structure.
Moreover, TW Utility Model No. M450591 also discloses a flame-retardant device. Referring to FIG. 2, the device mainly includes a pipe casing 20, a thermal-expandable body 21 and a securing member 22. The pipe casing 20 consists of pipe bodies of different radial dimensions so that a sufficient annular space is defined inside the pipe casing 20 to accommodate the thermal-expandable body 21, which will be sealed within the pipe casing 20 by the securing member 22. Similarly, one end of the pipe casing 20 has an annular projecting rim 201 to ensure that the pipe casing 20 is vertically placed at the base of the construction. After being embedded, the pipe casing 20, the thermal-expandable body 21 and the securing member 22 are integrated into the building structure.
Furthermore, TW Patent No. 1357961 discloses a seal with fire protection. FIG. 3 is a section view of the seal with fire protection. The seal is in the form of a tube and mainly includes a front base part 30, a rear base part 31, an intumescent material 32, a front fitting 33 and peelable layers 34. The intumescent material 32 is sandwiched between the front base part 30 and the rear base part 31. One or more of the peelable layers are peeled off according to the size of the pipe to be inserted so as to form a passageway of proper size. The front fitting 33, like the aforementioned annular projecting rim, is a horizontal member configured to facilitate the installation process. After being embedded, the front base part 30, the rear base part 31 and the intumescent material 32 are all integrated into the building structure.
The aforementioned prior art techniques are indeed capable of providing the flame-retardant function. Specifically, when heat is transmitted to these pipe casings, the thermal-expandable foams will react and expend drastically to stop flames and smoke from spreading along the pipes. However, all of the aforementioned designs did not take into consideration the convenience in installing pipe casings and the effectiveness of the thermal-expandable foam.
Regarding the convenience in installation, when a pipe casing with an annular projecting rim is disposed at a steel supporting panel, seams would be formed between the installation hole defined on the steel supporting panel and the pipe due to the size of the annular projecting rim, thus an extra shielding member (such as a mud retaining box) is usually required to prevent the poured concrete from leaking from the seams. This method is time consuming and labor consuming.
Regarding the effectiveness of the thermal-expandable foam, the thermal-expandable foam may be spontaneously aging or subject to environment influence become ineffective or exhibit less satisfactory flame-retardant performance due to deterioration caused by, for example, dampness or temperature change. Therefore, inspection and replacement operations are required to ensure the effectiveness of the thermal-expandable foam. The technical solutions provided by the foregoing patented techniques, however, cannot allow the embedded thermal-expandable foam to be inspected, let alone being removed and replaced. It is difficult to guarantee that the initially embedded thermal-expandable foam will be applicable after long-term installation.
In order to improve the convenience in installing pipes and enable the thermal-expandable foam to be inspected and replaced, the configuration of the pipe casing should be improved.